294 MOHAMMED A PARODY OF CHRIST. [BK. II.

(22.) They were reviled and persecuted in their own home, because of their testimony and the unflinching discharge of their prophetic mission, especially when this involved opposition to the then existing state of religion and exposure of prevailing abuses.

a. 'Jesus began to say unto them, This day, is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. . . . And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. . . . And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city' (Luke iv. 21-29). Compare John v. 15-18; vi. 41, 42; Heb. xii. 3.
The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil' (John vii. 7).
'And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: 1 and the third day he shall rise again' (Matt. xx. 17-19).

b. 'The mission of a prophet is accompanied by troubles

1 It may here be remarked that, as regards the termination of their persecutions, the life of Christ and the life of Mohammed present a striking contrast. Jesus Christ deliberately went up to Jerusalem, knowing for certain that He would then and there be condemned to death by crucifixion; but Mohammed, on seeing his life seriously threatened in Mecca, fled from his persecutors to Medina; and, in order to secure his own escape, condescended even to deceive the Koreish who were watching his house, by causing his nephew Ali to lay himself on the Prophet's bed in the Prophet's clothes. Besides, as long as Jesus lived in this world, the eminence of His Person drew all the persecutions upon Himself, thus saving His disciples from likewise becoming the special objects of persecution (John xviii. 8, 9); but Mohammed's personal influence, even taken together with that of his protectors, did not suffice to screen his followers from ill-treatment; for Ibn Ishak tells us, 'The weak amongst the Moslems were imprisoned, beaten, exposed to hunger and thirst, and to the heat of the sun, so that many of them forsook their faith in order to escape the persecutions, whilst others were strengthened by God to defy and resist.' After they had endured persecution for a while, they, by the advice of Mohammed, who thus confessed his own inability to keep them, emigrated to the Christian country of Abyssinia, where they found the needed protection, till Mohammed had become the chief of a powerful party in Medina, when they, at his request, rejoined him, in order to help in rendering that party dominant.
CH. I. 22.] HIS PREACHING STIRS UP PERSECUTION. 295

and burdens which only the persevering and strong amongst God's apostles can bear, with God's help; for they have to endure much from men who contend with them concerning that which they proclaim in the name of God." (Ibn Ishak.)

'Waraka said to that prince: "Would that I were still living, and young and strong on that day, when thy people will drive thee out of this city." 1 Upon this his Excellency said, "O Waraka, are they, then, going to drive me out?" Waraka replied, "Yes, certainly, they will drive thee out; for no one has ever brought such a thing as thou bringest, without his people having shown him enmity and troubled and persecuted him."' 2 (R.)

'As Mohammed continued to publish the religion of God and to invite to its adoption, the discord between him and the Koreish increased, so that they shunned him, hated him, spoke against him, and excited each other to hostilities against him. Then they went again to Abu Talib, saying, "Thou art a learned and distinguished man amongst us, and we have already requested thee to put a stop to thy nephew's doings, but thou hast not done so: therefore, by Allah, we shall no longer tolerate his reviling our fathers, misleading our youths, and blaspheming our gods; either thou restrainest him, or we shall combat you both." On their leaving, Abu Talib was very sorry for the discord and enmity of his people; and yet he could not forsake and deliver up Mohammed . . . .

'Then the Koreish became hostile to the companions of Mohammed who had embraced Islam and lived amongst them: every clan rose against the Moslems amongst them, sought to induce them to give up their faith, and ill-treated them. But God protected Mohammed by his uncle Abu Talib, who, on seeing the conduct of the Koreish, called upon the Beni Hashim and Mottaleb to join him in protecting Mohammed and taking his part. They accepted

1 i.e. the city of Mecca where Mohammed was born and had grown up, as a complete parallel to Jesus' being thrust out of the city of Nazareth, 'where He had been brought up' (Luke iv. 16).
2 This word, put into Waraka's mouth, shows that the Moslem writers believed it to be their duty to illustrate that Mohammed's equality with the previous prophets also consisted in his having to suffer persecutions, for delivering a message purporting to come from God.